In a typical secured network environment (e.g., a home secured network, a business secured network, etc.), multiple devices can share resources and data within the network. In order for a new device to be accepted in an established network (e.g., as a member of the network, to have access to data on the network, etc.), the device generally has to be configured with specific configuration data. Configuration data may include one or more of security keys, passwords, security settings, login credentials, IP addresses, and/or other data. Configuration data can be manually entered into the new device by a user via a user interface.
Alternatively, a physical dongle (e.g., a USB dongle) can be used to transfer configuration data to the new device. For example, a USB dongle may be inserted into a USB port at a networked server device. Next, a user may invoke an application at the server via a user interface. The invoked application may enable the server to download configuration data onto the USB dongle. The user can then carry the USB dongle to the new device and upload the configuration data onto the new device. Because the USB dongle is a passive device and generally cannot authenticate itself to the server, the server typically downloads only enough configuration data (e.g., a single security key) for configuring one new device at a time.
Thus, a market exists for a method to efficiently configure multiple devices in a networked environment using a trusted and active device.